Creative Avoidance=more creating!

I am really good at creative avoidance. Even though we have finally have a sunny, fairly warm day, it is really windy so I'm putting off going outside. I used to go shopping to get away from what has to be done, but I like to think I've moved beyond that. (Most of us probably have enough stuff to create with for the next century! I have finally given myself permission to just DO IT.)

I'm in the midst of several large home/garden projects, but the other night I took pause to create some little pieces with paper for another project that had to be sent off. I had forgotten how much fun it is to just play and stayed up until midnight. I would have continued and made piles of fun stuff for later, but I know it will be several weeks before I can do more.

These little pieces just begged to be glued down, so even though I should be outside hoeing or packing up the studio, I took time to make this picture. I think I will sew it onto the pink painted canvas for my oldest granddaughter's birthday. In conjuction with her birthday, we will have a play night and sleepover for all of us girls! This won't happen until June but it is good to have a plan. The littlest had a cupcake party for her special day complete with aprons. Having granddaughters is such a blast.

Creating activities that are meaningful and memorable doesn't take alot of money, just time and that is priceless.
Check out what Jane LaFazio in San Diego is achieving with a group of 4th & 5th graders. www.mundolindobeautifulworld.blogspot.com

Slowing down

"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast-you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
Eddie Cantor - from the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron.

That sums up one of the lessons I learned from my recent trip to the beach. There is nothing like sitting and watching the waves to calm the soul and slow one down. In that moment we take pause, almost subconsciously, and realize there is value in slowing down our daily lives and just enjoying the company of ourselves and others.

Of course, it could just be my own lesson I'm learning and not meant for anyone else. I've been meaning and needing to slow it down for awhile and just enjoy life and the process of creation. In these days of multi-tasking and instant messaging/information overload, it takes a conscious effort to not get wrapped up in the 'getting' of it all.

It doesn't mean that my days won't be as full as ever with a large garden, dogs, chickens, turkeys, daughter and grandkids, husband, art, but I think I will look at it differently, as something to be savored and enjoyed within that moment. At least that is my hope.


The piece above was hand appliqued and embroidered on an antique kimono sleeve. The crane is very serene as he waits for whatever the stream will bring his way.

Life-What a Ride

Wow, is it ever hard to reconcile oneself to not playing in the beautiful blue seas every day!
The sea in all of its incredible daily dramas is so much like life and such a paradox. One can bob along waiting for the 'big one' while missing all of the great little rides, or be so immersed in the little stuff, that you miss the big one!

Live mindfully and intentionally no matter where the next wave takes you as long as you don't let it take you down. Some days that is the tricky part.

I recommend "Life is a Verb" by Patti Digh. I've just started it, but it looks like a winner in living with intention.

Going, going . . .

I started to play with this little piece this morning because I couldn't settle down to pack and get done what has to be done before a holiday. I have some crochet to take but won't take any stitching, though my fingers itch to start on this little scene (and the many more stacked up!). I'm sure I'll be plenty inspired to sketch, watercolor and take plenty of fab photos like the two below.

This is the view I'll be looking at for the next 10 days. Aloha!

A Monet kind of day

This was the scene of my studio last Tuesday. I have to say again: painting on fabric is so much fun! I could have never stopped. I was going to change palettes in the middle of the day but I became enamored of the softer lavenders and teals.

I painted on several pieces that had been repurposed. My favorite was this linen tucked blouse front. It has alot of potential. I see a garden and rolling hills.




This is cotton sateen that was used as a blotter piece under what I was painting on top! I love how the colors have muted and blended, creating soft, watery vistas.



Detail of what could become a background for 'Shangri-La' amid the mysterious mountains somewhere in Asia.



Another lovely backdrop begging for ribbons, threads, beads,. . . on egyptian cotton.



I've had this bolt of not so pretty batik for 2 years now and I've never really liked it. So I gave it water and paint and it has sprung to life! Now it has lots of potential.



The picture above has the original color of the fabric in the center with paint on both sides.
The picture below shows it after it has dried.



And that was as far as I got. That night I slipped on a water hose and a very large garbage can to suffer a smashed and broken nose. This required a trip to the ER and a resetting and then several days on the couch.
Lesson learned: Stick with the fun stuff-it's safer!

Peeking Through the Fence

Originally this was a painted piece of fabric that I then cut into strips. I like the contrast of black so I added some of those. These weren't sewn together at this point.



I looked at it for quite some time on my design wall and wondered what to do with it. I played with the widths of black and the size. I needed a 12" square piece for the SAQA Auction that begins September 20th. So I chose a section with a nice color range and sewed it all together. What to do next?

I sketched up a little pastoral scene showing birds frolicking in the early morning sky and pond. Normally I like to do hand work, but I need to start practicing using my machine more so I used black thread, and machine stitched the scene. Too much fun and effective too!



I love ribbons, button, beads and stuff. In my mind this was looking pretty stark without things growing up and around the fence pickets, so I couched ribbons and threads down with beads. This is where I get to do the hand work I love so much. I'm as much a process person as I am a project person. I like the journey as much as the completion. Already my mind is full of ideas for the next quilt.



This is the finished piece and I'm happy with it. It will be on the SAQA 2010 Benefit Auction that starts September 20th. Click on the SAQA logo on the side bar and go to 2010 Benefit Auction to view some of the other pieces that will be for sale. Studio Art Quilt Associates is a fantastic non-profit promoting the art quilt medium in a variety of venues.



I'm not one to bust through walls, and I can get tired of climbing, but while I work through the process of completing a piece I can see progress. I have created a fence that I can peek through, see the promise of a beautiful new day and climb through when I'm ready.

Hitting the Wall: Part One

For reasons still unknown to me, I hit a wall when I returned from my San Francisco Art Quilt conference. I was overwhelmed on several fronts and just now feel like I am finding my way out. I have been reevaluating the past three years and what progress I have made and where I would like my journey to go. Heavy stuff indeed.

I took several photos of textures where nature tried to overtake that which man has made, where solid and concrete stuctures were slowly being hybridized by the natural world. Retrospectively, I would say that I needed to find where I fit in with what it takes to be successful in a given area, what my definition of success is, where my true self begins and what I'm willing to do to achieve my goals.

When these times hit, I tend to go within and organize my immediate surroundings. So I've been tending my nest and getting my gardens ready for a new season. Two trailer loads and two truck loads of farm compost take ALOT of time. Not to mention the usual poulty palooza that goes on around here, two lab dogs (one still a puppy at 85 lbs.) that need training, grandkids, and the beginnings of moving the studio. Which means that cleaning and organizing really can't be put off.



I also collected eggs, the first rhubarb and made omelets and apple/rhubarb pies.







And as usual, it is stitching something that really pulls me out of the doldrums. Tomorrow I'll show what I sewed up this week for the SAQA Quilt Auction.